Automatic apparatus for packing articles in boxes

ABSTRACT

A machine to pack oranges in boxes has a central packing station occupied by a box and has two supply stations on opposite sides of the packing station where the fruit is arranged in staggered rows on channel assemblies that expand for gravitational supply movement of the fruit and contract to form patterns of fruit, the right channel assembly forming one particular pattern and the left channel assembly forming another particular pattern, the two patterns alternating in the layers in a box. A right pickup head and a left pickup head are mounted on an overhead carriage that shifts between a right position and a left position. At the right position the vacuum cups of the right head pick up a new layer from the right channel assembly and the vacuum cups of the left pickup head deposit a layer in the box. At the left position of the carriage the vacuum cups of the left head pickup a pattern at the left channel assembly and the vacuum cups of the right head deposit a layer of fruit in the box. The cycle control comprises a gang of switch-operating cams on a common shaft that is rotated by a suitable electric motor. The cams control the horizontal reciprocations of the carriage, the up and down movements of the two pickup heads, the vacuum cycle in the vacuum cups of the two pickup heads, the vacuum cycle in the vacuum cups of the two pickup heads, and expansion and contraction of the two channel assemblies. A selector switch having four positions for three-layer, four-layer, five-layer, and six-layer boxes, respectively, determines which cams are activated for a particular operating cycle for packing a box with a particular number of fruit in a particular number of layers.

United States Patent Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee [72] Inventors Fred W. Riddington Ontario; AllomeyPaul A. Weilein Paul F. Paddock. Riverside; Henry J. Laniranltie, Glendale, all of, Calif. [21 Appl No. 811,018 ABSTRACT: A machine to pack oranges in boxes has a con [22] Filed Mar. 27, 1969 tral packing station occupied by a box and has two supply sta- [45] Patented July 6, 1971 tions on opposite sides of the packing station where the fruit is [73] Assignee Sunkist Growers, lnc. arranged in staggered rows on channel assemblies that expand L05 Angeles, Calif. for gravitational supply movement of the fruit and contract to form patterns of fruit, the right channel assembly forming one particular pattern and the left channel assembly forming another particular pattern, the two patterns alternating in the layers in a box. A right pickup head and a left pickup head are mounted on an overhead carriage that shifts between a right [54] AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR PACKING position anda left position. At the right position the vacuum ARTICLES IN BOXES cups of the right head pick up a new layer from the right chan- 36 Claims, 35 Drawing Fm nol assembly and the vacuum cups of the left pickup head deposit a layer in the box. At the left position of the carriage [52] US. Cl 53/60, the vacuum cups of the left head Pickup 3 pattern at h |eft 53/6153/6953/165 channel assembly and the vacuum cups of the right head [51] Int. Cl B651) 57/06, deposit a layer offruit i the B65b 35/38 The cycle control comprises a gang of switch-operating [50] Field 01 Search 53/55, 63, cams (m a common shaft that is rotated by a Suitable electric 7 60 motor. The cams control the horizontal reciprocations of the carria e, the u and down movements of the two pickup [56] References Cited heads, the vacul fm cycle in the vacuum cups of the two pickup UNITED STATES PATENTS heads, the vacuum cycle in the vacuum cups of the two pickup ,2 1941 B BI' e! 53/126 heads, and expansion and contraction of the two channel as- 2,957,287 10/1960 Cella 53/64 semblies. A selector switch having four positions for three- 3,273,304 9/1966 Winter et a]. 53/165 X layer, four-layer, five-layer, and six-layer boxes, respectively, 3,292,341 12/1966 Frost 53/165 X determines which cams are activated for a particular operat- 3,410,047 1 1/1968 Johnson 53/55 X ing cycle for packing a box with a particular number of fruit in 3,453,802 7/1969 Riddington 53/165 X a particular number oflayers.

: l 57;; 76 I i/g l l l l i o A a; "a?" 565 564 @4 0 30: Z40 f, 6 a 0 PATENTED JUL 619?! SHEET 02 F 15 INVENTORS. WE/DD/A/GTOA/ F 5400065 F Byzi vf ATTOEAEV PATENTED JUL 6l97| 3,590,551

PATENTEDJUL BIB?! 3590.551

sum 15UF15 AUTOMATHC APPARATUS FOR IPACIKIING AlkTllClLlES ill' l BOXES BACKGROUND OF THE iNVEN'fION The invention relates to an apparatus of the character described in the Frost Pat. No. 3,292,341 for packing citrus fruit in boxes wherein layers of two patterns alternate for partial nesting of the successive layers. The citrus fruit is fed gravitationally to two supply stations where the fruit are arranged in staggered rows to provide the two different patterns, respectively. A right pickup head picks up a layer of fruit of what may be termed the right pattern at the right supply station and deposits the layer in the box, and, in like manner, a

left pickup head picks up a layer of fruit of what may be termed the left pattern at the left supply station an deposits the layer in the box.

The present invention is directed to the problem of provid ing a packing machine of this character that is efficient for a high rate ofproduction and is fully automatic, requiring only that empty boxes be supplied to the apparatus as needed. The invention is further directed to such an automatic machine that is versatile in the sense of being capable of packing three, four, five, and sixlayer boxes and that may be quickly and conveniently changed over from packing boxes of a given number of fruit in a given number of layers to packing boxes of a different number of fruit in the same or in a different number of layers.

Other objects of the invention include: to provide safety features to protect personnel; to provide for stopping the machine automatically in the event of failure of either pickup head to pick up a complete pattern; to provide indicators to indicate the location of such malfunctions; to provide a cycle control to program the operations for packing different boxes with different numbers of fruit in different numbers of layers; to provide such a cycle control or programmer incorporating a selector that is adjustable for packing boxes of three, four, five and six layers selectively so that changing over from one operating cycle to another operating cycle merely requires change in the setting of the selector control; to provide such a cycle control that will always result in the bottom layer in a box being a given one of the two different alternate patterns, regardless of whether the number of layers in a box is odd or even; and to provide a cycle control that will permit interruption of a cycle and temporary manual control to correct a ma!- function with assurance that the resumption of the operation of the machine'will begin at the point of the interruption of the operating cycle.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTiON The invention provides: a central packing station where boxes are filled in succession; a left supply station to the left of the packing station; a right supply station to the right of the packing station; a carriage having a left pickup head and a right pickup head, the carriage being mounted on a track above the three stations for movement between a left position with the left pickup head above the left supply station and the right pickup head above the packing station and a right position with the right pickup head above the right supply station and the left pickup head above the packing station, the car riage being movable by an air cylinder and each of the pickup heads being movable by a corresponding air cylinder between an upper position and a lower position, the left pickup head having a plurality of vacuum cups to pick up and deposit fruit, the vacuum cups being arranged in what may be termed a left pattern, the right pickup head having a plurality of similar vacuum cups arranged in accord with a right pattern, a conveyor to carry empty boxes in succession to the packing sta tion; and a platen at the packing station to lift the newly arrived boxes to a receiving position against the underside of a rectangular guide that guides the pickup heads into the interiorofa box.

The left and right supply stations are provided with channel assemblies that form rows of fruit for the corresponding pickup heads, the two assemblies being laterally expanded while the two pickup heads are elevated to permit rows of new fruit to gravitate into position, the channel assemblies being contracted just before the pickup heads are lowered, thereby moving the rows of fruit into staggered. nested relationship.

When the carriage is at its left position the two pickup heads may be lowered to permit the left pickup head to pick up a new layer of fruit from the left supply station and to permit the right pickup head to deposit its layer of fruit in the box. When the carriage is at its right position the: two pickup heads may be lowered to permit the left pickup head to deposit its layer in the box and to permit the right pickup head to pick up a new layer offruit at the right supply station.

The invention provides a cycle control which comprises a sciecior switch in combination with a gang of rotary cams on a common cam shaft. To carry out an operating cycle, the gang of cams is rotated by a suitable electric motor and each of the rotary cams has a circumferential series of appropriately spaced outer and inner dwells to operate corresponding switches for various steps in the operating cycle. The selector switch may be set for packing three, four, five, or six-layer boxes, the setting determining which of the rotary cams are cffectlvc, i.e., determines which of the switches corresponding to the cams are activated for an operating cycle.

The arrival of a new box at the precisely correct position at the packing station results in energization of the cam motor to start a packing cycle. One of the cams measures a time period for packing a three or four-layer box and an alternate cam measures a longer time period for packing a five or six-layer box. A third cam shifts the carriage. Other cams control the raising and lowering of the pickup heads and still other cams control the vacuum cycles of the vacuum cups of the two pickup heads. Finally, a cam controls the expansion and contraction of the two channel assemblies at the two supply stations.

Since the number of rows of fruit in a layer in a box varies from three to five and since the number of fruit in each row varies from three to seven, a number of interchangeable sets of left and right pickup heads are required for packing a wide range of fruit sizes and interchangeable sets of channel assemblies are aiso necessary to cover the same range. With such interchangeable sets of pickup heads and interchangeable sets of channel assemblies available for use as needed and with the seiector switch adjustable for three four, five, and six layers, it is simple matter to make a changeover from an operating cycle for packing a given number of fruit of a given size in a box to an operating cycle for packing a different number of fruit ofa different size in a box. it is a simple matter, for exam pie, to change over from packing boxes with 4% fruit in four iayers of ilIZi each to boxes of ilfiti fruit in six layers of 30 fruit each.

The various features and advantages of the invention may be understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Bi tilEF DESCRH TIQN Di THE DRAWINGS in the drawings, which are to be regarded as merely illustrative:

Fit ii is a from elevational view of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention with a portion broken away;

Fit 2 is an end elevation as seen along the line 2-2 of FIG. It with portions broken away;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section taken as indicated by the line 34 of FIG. 2 and showing the carriage and track in plan;

lFiG. ii is a fragmentary section taken as indicated by the line iii of FM 2. showing the carriage and track in side elevation;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of FIG. and showing a. pickup head as seen from above;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 showing the packing station and the two supply stations on opposite sides thereof;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 showing one of the two channel assemblies in its contracted state;

FIG. 8 is a similar view showing the channel assembly in its expanded state;

FIG. 9 is a section taken along the line 99 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a plan view ofa baseplate on which a channel assembly rests;

FIG. 11 is a section taken as indicated by the. line Il-II of FIG. I0;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary section taken as indicated by the line 12-12 of FIG. Ill;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section taken as indicated by the line 13-13 of FIG. Ill;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an elastomeric sheet that is incorporated into the construction of a channel assembly;

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 15-15 of FIG. 2 to show the conveyor for delivering empty boxes to the packing station and for discharging full boxes therefrom;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary section taken along the line ll6-ll6 of FIG. 15 showing how a box is supported by a platen at the packing station;

FIG. 17 is a section along the line 17-17 of FIG. 116;

FIG. 18 is a side elevation of the structure shown in FIG. I7 as seen along the line I8-ll8 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary elevational view of screen doors of the apparatus and switches operated thereby;

FIG. 20 is a section taken along the line 2020 of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is an elevational view partly in section showing the construction of a pickup head;

FIG. 22 is a sectional view ofthe supporting structure of a vacuum cup of a pickup head;

FIG. 23 is a diagrammatic view of the cam assembly;

FIGS. 24-32 are face views of the various cams in their oriented operative relationships as employed in the cam assembly;

FIG. 33 is a diagram of the pneumatic actuation system;

FIGS. 34A, 36B, and 34C comprise a wiring diagram of the electrical control system; and

FIG. 35 is a chart depicting the overall cam cycle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT General Arrangement In FIG. I a conveyor, generally designated 40, has delivered a box 42 to the packing station where the box rests on a platen 44 and the platen has been elevated to position the box closely below the underside of a tapered rectangular guide 45 that guides the pickup heads into the interior of the box. FIG. I further shows a left supply station represented by a left chan' nel assembly 46 and a right supply station represented by a right channel assembly 48. As shown in FIG. 6, each of the two supply stations includes a supply chute 50 to supply fruit to the corresponding channel assembly. To prevent the gravitational movement onto a channel assembly of a mass of fruit that is more than one layer deep, a bridge 52 overhangs each channel assembly and is adjustable in height in accord with the size of the supplied fruit. Each channel assembly provides a series of parallel channels down which rows of fruit gravitate against adjustable stops 54, the stops being adjusted to form staggered rows as best shown in FIG. 6.

In the drawings it is assumed that the apparatus is set up for packing boxes of I38 fruit arranged in five layers that alternate between what may be termed a right pattern and a left pattern, there being three right patterns including the top and bottom layers. In FIG. 6 the fruit is shaded that forms a left pattern on the left channel assembly 46 and the fruit is shaded that forms a right pattern on the right channel assembly 4% It will be noted that the left pattern comprises five rows of five,

six, five, six, and five fruit each and the right hand pattern comprises five rows of six, five, six, five, and six fruit each. These two patterns are complementary to each other in the sense that if either pattern is placed on top of the other pattern, the two patterns nest together in a space-saving manner.

In preparation for the formation of a layer pattern at a supply station, the corresponding channel assembly is expanded laterally by means of a pair of air cylinders 55 as shown in FIG. 3 to permit the rows of fruit to gravitate freely along the channels without interference with each other and subsequently the channel assembly is contracted as shown in FIG. 7 to cause the staggered rows of fruit to nest together as shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, a carriage, generally designated 56, is mounted on an overhead track 58 to reciprocate between a left position and a right position and as shown in FIG. I, a right pickup head 60 and a left pickup head 60a extend downwardly from the carriage to pick up fruit at the two supply stations and to deposit the fruit at the packing station. As indicated in FIG. 3 the carriage $6 is reciprocated by a piston rod 62 of an air cylinder 64 and as indicated in FIG. 4 the two pickup heads 60 and 69a are raised and lowered by corresponding piston rods 65 that extend downwardly from corresponding air cylinders 66 and 67, respectively.

To stabilize each of the pickup heads and to prevent rotation of the pickup head about the axis of the corresponding piston rod 65, each pickup head is provided with two upwardly extending guide rods 68 and 70, as best shown in FIG. 2, which extend through fixed guide sleeves 72 on the carriage 56. The guide rod 68 is hollow to serve as an air line for the corresponding pickup head and for this purpose the upper end of the guide rod is connected to a flexible air hose 74.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 21, each of the pickup heads has a plurality of rows of vacuum cups 75 to pick up fruit. The rows of vacuum cups to the left pickup head 60a conform to the left pattern that is formed in the left channelassembly and the rows of vacuum cups in the right pickup head 60 conform to the right pattern that is formed in the right channel assembly 418.

FIG. I shows how at the left position of the carriage the left pickup head is above the left channel assembly 46 and the right pickup head is above the rectangular guide 45 at the packing station. At the alternate right position of the carriage the left pickup head is at the packing station and the right pickup head is at the right channel assembly 48. Thus, at the left position of the carriage shown in FIG. I with the left pickup head empty of fruit and the right pickup head carrying a layer of fruit, the two pickup heads may be lowered to permit the left pickup head to pick up a new layer of fruit and to permit the right pickup head to deposit a layer of fruit in the box 42. On the other hand, when the carriage is at its right position with the right pickup head empty and the left pickup head loaded with fruit, the two pickup heads may be lowered to permit the right pickup head to pick up a new layer of fruit and to permit the left pickup head to deposit its load of fruit in the box 42.

With the operation of the apparatus fully automatic all that is required is to keep the feed end of the conveyor 40 supplied with empty boxes. Each empty box is moved automatically to the supply station where the platen lifts the empty box against the rectangular guide 45. The carriage and the pickup heads then carry out the required series of operations to load the box with the five layers of fruit. When this loading operation is completed, the box is automatically lowered and discharged at the discharge end of the conveyor.

The automatic cycle is carried out by a cycle control or program timer which, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 23, comprises a gang of cams A-K which are mounted on a common shaft 76 that is operated by a synchronous motor 78 through a gear box 30. The cams have circumferential inner dwells (notches) and outer dwells for cooperation with corresponding operating members 82 of corresponding switches 84A84I(. A master control in the form of a selector switch 85, which is also shown in FIG. 2, determines which of the switches 84A-84l( are activated for a particular operating cycle. The selector switch 85 has a manually operable knob 86 which carries a pointer 88 that may be adjusted to indicate a three-layer pack, a four-layer pack, a five-layer pack, or a sixlayer pack.

Box Conveyor As shown in FlG. 15, the box conveyor 40 has a pair of parallel sprocket chains 90 that carry spaced transverse flight bars 92 to push successive boxes onto and off of the platen 44 at the supply station. The two sprocket chains 90 are actuated by a pair of forward sprockets 94 on a shaft 95 that is controlled by an electrically actuated brake 96 and a rearward pair of sprockets 98 on a shaft that carries a smaller outer sprocket 100. The sprocket 100 is connected by a sprocket chain 102 with a sprocket 104 on a drive shaft 105 that is actuated by a motor 106 through a gear box 108 and an electrically actuated clutch 110. The drive shaft 105 carries a pair of sprockets 112 to drive a pair of sprocket chains 114 that pass around a rearward pair of sprockets 115, the purpose of the two sprocket chains 114 being to carry full boxes away from the packing station and provide a temporary storage therefor. An auxiliary conveyor generally designated 116 has a single sprocket chain 118 to transfer the full boxes to a packing house conveyor that is not shown.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 18, the platen 44 is mounted on the upper end of a piston rod 120 that extends upwardly from an air cylinder 122 and the platen is stabilized against rotation by -a short rod 124 that extends downwardly therefrom through a fixed guide bushing 125.

When a box 42 approaches the platen 44 it is confined between two longitudinal guides 126 and 128 of angular cross section, the two longitudinal guides being mounted on the platen by means of corresponding brackets 130 and 132. As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the left hand longitudinal guide 126 carries a switch 134 having a downwardly extending springbiased control arm 135 and it is to be noted that when the platen 44 is at its lower position the control arm 135 is in the path of the conveyor flight bars 92.

The control arm 135 is operated by a conveyor flight bar 92 for the purpose of stopping the conveyor when a box reaches the desired position on the lowered platen 44. When the platen is elevated, however, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the control arm 135 is positioned above the level of the path of the flight bars 92. When the platen 44 is in its lower position the control arm 135 is swung counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 18 from a first position to a second position by a conveyor flight bar 92 but when the platen is subsequently elevated as shown in FIG. 18 to lift the control arm above the flight bar, the control arm swings back to its initial position.

As shown in FIG. 17 and 18, a switch 136 having a laterally extending control arm 138 is mounted on a fixed lower bracket 140 with the control arm in the path of an operating lug 142 on the previously mentioned bracket 130 for operation in response to the downward movement of the platen. As will be explained, the switch 134 and the switch 136 cooperate to control actuation of the conveyor.

Mounted at spaced points along the right-hand longitudinal guide 128 are three successive switches 144, 145, and 146 which have corresponding operating arms 144a, 145a, and 146athat extend through corresponding windows 148 in the longitudinal guide into the path of movement of the successive boxes 42. The purpose of the three switches 144, 145, and 146 is to sense whether or not a box is correctly positioned on the platen 44 to start an operating cycle. For this purpose the first and third switches 144 and 146 are normally closed and the intermediate switch 145 is normally open. If a box is correctly positioned on the platen it closes the normally open switch 145 and permits the normally closed switches 144 and 146 to be closed so that the three switches are in series for transmitting a signal to start a cycle of operation. On the other hand, if the box is not advanced far enough, it will open switch 144 to prevent a starting signal and if it has advanced to far it will open switch 146 to prevent a starting signal. in the event there should be no box, the switch will remain open and prevent transmission of a starting signal.

The function of the conveyor switches may be summarized as follows. When a flight bar 92 pushes a box 42 onto the platen 44, the flight bar displaces the control arm 135 of switch 134 to stop the conveyor. If the box is in the correct position on the platen the three switches 144, 145, and 146 are closed with the consequence that the platen 44 is elevated by the air cylinder 122 in preparation for packing fruit into the box. The elevation of the platen lifts the control arm 135 of the switch 134 clear from the flight bar 92 to permit the control arm to return to its initial position but actuation of the conveyor is prevented because in the meantime the control lug 142 which is carried by the platen rises to release the control arm 138 of switch 136 and switch 136 prevents actuation of the conveyor until the platen is subsequently lowered.

The Two Supply Stations The two channel assemblies 46 and 48 are identicr except for the different adjustments of the stops 54 as required to form the two different patterns of the layers of fruit. The left channel assembly 46, for example, is illustrated by FIGS. '7 to 14.

As shown in iFIGSv '7 and 8 the channels of the channel assembly 46 are formed by a series of ridge members comprising six full ridge members 150 and two half ridge members 150a at the opposite sides of the assembly, the eight ridge members forming seven channels for seven rows of the fruit. When the channel assembly is laterally expanded as shown in FIG. 8, the rows of fruit are spaced apart to permit free gravitationai rolling of the fruit, the channel assembly being inclined to cause the fruit to reach the staggered stops 54. When the channel assembly is laterally contracted as shown in FIG. 7, the spacing between the channels is reduced to cause the rows of fruit to nest together as may be seen in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. '7, the various ridge members 156 and 15011 are attached by screws 1512 to an elastomeric sheet 154 which, as shown in FIG. 14, is provided with spaced slits 155i and is formed with longitudinal side flanges 156 of angular cross section. As shown in FIG. 7 the opposite side edges of the elastomeric sheet 154 are attached to corresponding inverted channels 158 which in turn are connected by studs 160 to two corresponding support plates 162 that are movable apart for the purpose of stretching the elastomeric sheet. As may be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, the right-hand support plate 62 has an extension 164 of half thickness that overlaps a similar half thickness extension 165 of the left support plate. The two cooperating support plates 162 are mounted on a heavy inclined baseplate 166 which, as shown: in FIG. 11), is formed with a pair of left-hand slots 168 and a pair of right hand slots 170.

As shown in FIGS. iii-13, the baseplate 166 is supported by a pair of hollow frame members 1'72 in a suitable manner that permits the bascpiate to be osciliateci at a frequency to encourage gravitationai rolling of the rows of fruit against the stops 54. In the construction shown, the forward lower edge of the baseplate 166 rests on a spaced pair of cylindrical elastomeric pads 174 which are bonded to the heads 175 of corresponding screws 176. Each screw 176 is threaded into a omresponding angular bracket 1'78 that is fixedly mounted on the forward hollow frame member 172. To keep the heavy baseplate 166 in position in a floating manner, the forward ower edge of the baseplate is provided with a pair of downwardly extending rigid pins 160 which slidingly extend through. circular apertures in corresponding angular brackets 132 that are also mounted on the forward hollow frame member 172. The upper rearward end of the baseplate 166 reset on two additional elastomeric pads 174 on correspond ing studs 176 that screw into corresponding angular brackets 178 that are attached to the rearward hollow frame member 172.

To impart vibratory oscillation to the baseplate 166 the rearward end of the baseplate is provided with a rigidly fixed downwardly extending block 184 that carries an elastomeric pad 185 on its underside and a rocker arm 186 on a rocker shaft 188 oscillates against the elastomeric pad 185 at a desired frequency and at a desired amplitude of oscillation.

The rocker shaft 188 is journaled in suitable bearings 190 on the rearward hollow frame member 172 and carries a rearwardly extending actuating arm 192. As shown. in FIG. 2, the actuating arm 192 is connected by a link 194 to a crank 195 on a drive shaft 196 that is joumaled on a pair of brackets 202. The drive shaft 196 is driven by a suitable motor 204 by means of a V-belt 205 that extends from a sheave 206on the motor shaft 208 to a larger sheave 210 on the drive shaft 196.

The two sheaves 206 and 210 are split sheaves of a wellknown type that may be adjusted to vary the effective diameter of the sheaves and thereby vary the speed at which the drive shaft 196 is rotated. Thus, the two sheaves 206 and 210 may be adjusted to vary the frequency of the oscillation of the rocker shaft 188 and the rocker arm 186 may be rotatably adjusted on the rocker shaft to vary the extent to which the rocker arm raises the elastomeric pad 185 thereby to determine the amplitude of the vibrations of the baseplate In a well known manner the motor 204 is slidable along a pair of guide rods 212 and the position of the motor is controlled by a screw 214 that is operated by a crank 215. Rotating the crank 215 shifts the spacing of the two sheaves 206 and 210 and thereby varies the efiective diameters of the sheaves for controlling the speed of rotation of the drive shaft 196.

With the two opposite side edges of the elastomeric sheet 154 fixedly connected to the two corresponding overlapping support plates 162, the elastomeric sheet may be stretched to expand the channel assembly and may be relaxed to contract the channel assembly by simply controlliiig the positions of the two support plates relative to each other. For this purpose the left support plate 162 is mounted on the upper sides of a pair of channels 216 that extend into the pair of slots 168 in the baseplate 166 and in like manner the rightward support plate 162 is mounted on the upper sides of a pair of channels 218 that extend into the slots 170 of the baseplate.

Each of the four channels 216, 218, is movably supported by a pair of rollers 220 which are journaled in brackets 222, the brackets being mounted on the undersides of the support plates 162. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the two left channels 216 are connected by links 224 to corresponding rocker arms 225 on a left rocker shaft 226 and a piston rod 228 of a corresponding previously mentioned air cylinder 55 is connected to a central actuating rocker arm on the same rocker shaft. In like manner, the two right-hand channels 218 are connected by links 224 to rocker arms 225 on a right rocker shaft 232 and an actuating rocker arm 230 on the right rocker shaft is connected to a piston rod 234 of the other of the previously mentioned air cylinders 55. It is apparent that the two air cylinders 55 may be energized to expand and contract the channel assembly. It is also apparent that one channel assembly may be substituted for another by simply disconnecting the two support plates 162 from the corresponding channels 216 and 218.

Structure of the Two Pickup Heads Referring to FIGS. and 21, the piston rod 65 that carries a pickup head 60 or 60ais connected by clamp members 235 to a small plate 236 which, in turn, is connected to what may be termed a mounting plate 240. The previously mentioned guide rods 68 and 70 are rigidly connected to the small plate 236 and the tubular rod 68 terminates in a tee fitting 242 for airflow to and from the vacuum cups 75 of the pickup head.

Each of the two pickup heads 60 and 60a comprises a baseplate 244 on which the various vacuum cups 75 are mounted and four upright posts 245. The four upright posts are rigidly attached to the headplate 244 and are adapted at their upper ends to be releasably attached to the mounting plate 240 by cap screws 246.

As best shown in FIG. 22 the headplate 244 has a plurality of distributed bores 248, each of which is counterbored to provide two annular seats 250 for a pair of opposed conical spiral springs 252. Each vacuum cup 75 is mounted on a tubular stem 254 that is floatingly mounted in the corresponding bore 248 by the two spiral springs 252, one spiral spring backing against the vacuum cup and the other spiral spring backing against a flange 255 at the other end of the tubular stem. With each vacuum cup 75 floatingly mounted in this manner the vacuum cup is free to shift laterally, axially, and angularly as required for engagement with a particular fruit in a layer of fruit. Mounted on the upper side of the headplate 244 are two air manifolds 256 which are connected by flexible tubes 258 to the tubular stem 254 of the vacuum cups and each of the two manifolds is releasably connected by a flexible hose 260 to the tee fitting 242 at the lower end of the tubular guide rod 68.

The described construction makes it possible to interchange pickup heads in an expeditious manner since a pickup head may be removed simply by removing the four cap screws 2% and disconnecting the two flexible hoses 260 from the tee fitting 242.

In the initial practice of the invention 16 different pickup heads are required and each pickup head, of course, has four posts 245 extending upward from its headplate 2434 for releasable connection to the corresponding mounting plates 240 of the apparatus. Since none of the four posts 245 can coincide with the location of a bore 248 of any headplate in which a vacuum cup is mounted, a feature of the invention is the location of the four points at the four comers of a rhomboid, see FIG. 5 wherein the mounting plate is rhomboidal. Such a rhomboid may be arrived at by making transparencies representing the 16 headplates and the locations of the bores 248 thereon. With the sixteen transparencies stacked, locations may be found for the four posts that avoid all of the bores 248.

Normally, air is being pumped out of the tubular guide rod 68 of a pickup head to efacuate the two manifolds 256 and the flexible tubes 258 that connect the manifolds to the vacuum cups 75. Consequently, when a pickup head is brought into contact with a layer of fruit a vacuum quickly develops in each of the vacuum cups 75 for effective engagement with the fruit. When a pickup head carrying a layer of fruit is lowered into a box, airflow in the tubular guide rod 68 is reversed by connecting the tubular guide rod to a source of compressed air with consequent abrupt release of the fruit by the vacuum cups.

The Carriage Structure As indicated in cross section in FIG. 2, the carriage 56 comprises a pair of hollow parallel beams 262 which are interconnected at each end by an upper plate 264 and a lower plate 265. The two air cylinders 66 and 67 for the two pickup heads 60 and 60a are mounted on the two upper plates 264i respectively, and the upper ends of the two air cylinders are interconnected by an angle iron 266. As shown in FIG. 2, two switches 268 are mounted on the underside of the angle iron 266 to sense complete upward retraction of the two pickup heads. For this purpose, each of the two switches has an operating arm 270 which is actuated by a conical head 272 on a corresponding guide rod 68 or 70 when the corresponding pickup head is fully retracted.

As may be seen in cross section in FIG. 2, the carriage 56 is supported by rollers 274 which ride on rails 275, the rollers being confined by overhanging longitudinal plates 276 of the track structure. As may be seen in FIG. 3, additional side rollers 278 of the carriage cooperate with the inner edges of the two side plates 276. 

1. In an apparatus for packing different numbers of layers of articles in receptacles wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of the articles from supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: cycle means including a plurality of cycle elements operable simultaneously through repeated cycles, different cycle elements being effective to control the lateral reciprocations of the pickup means for different numbers of layers of the articles in receptacles, different cycle elements being effective to control the up and down reciprocations of the pickup means for different numbers of layers of the articles in the receptacles, different cycle elements being effective to control the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means for different numbers of layers of the articles in the receptacles; and a single master control means to make the cycle elements effective selectively, said master control means being adjustable to different settings for packing different numbers of layers in the receptacles.
 2. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 which includes: conveyor means to deliver successive empty receptacles to the packing station; and means to actuate said cycle means in response to arrival of an empty receptacle at the packing station.
 3. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which said pickup means comprises two pickup heads to pick up layers of two different complementary patterns, respectively, to form alternate layers in a receptacle, said cycle means being programmed to start the packing of each receptacle with a layer of a given pattern of the two complementary patterns.
 4. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which said supply means includes a set of parallel channels to form rows of articles; in which means is included to expand the set of channels laterally for free movement of the articles and to contract the set of channels to nest the rows of articles to form the patterns of layers; and in which said cycle means includes at least one cycle element to control expansion and contraction of the set of channels.
 5. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 which includes tapered means at the packing station to guide the pickup means into the interior of the receptacles; which includes a platen to elevate newly arrived empty boxes up to the guide means; and in which said cycle means includes at least one cycle element to control said platen.
 6. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which said pickup means comprises a left pickup head and a right pickup head; and in which said cycle means includes different cycle elements to control the up and down movements of one of said pickup heads for packing different numbers of layers in the receptacles.
 7. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which said cycle means includes a plurality of different cycle elements to control the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means for packing different numbers of layers in the receptacles.
 8. An improvement as set forth in claim 1 in which said cycle means comprises: a plurality of cycle elements in the form of cams operatively interconnected for simultaneous operation; and switch means operated by the respective cams.
 9. An improvement as set forth in claim 8 in which the master control means makes said switches effective selectively for carrying out operating cycles for depositing different numbers of layers in the receptacles.
 10. An improvement as set forth in claim 9 in which said master control means is movable to different positions for packing different numbers of layers of the articles in the receptacles; and which includes indicia for the different positions to indicate the different numbers of layers.
 11. In an apparatus for packing different numbers of layers of articles in receptacles wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from supply means and to release the layers in the receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: cycle means operative through a predetermined cycle to control the lateral reciprocations of the pickup means, the up and down reciprocations of the pickup means, and the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means; conveyor means to deliver successive empty receptacles to the packing station and to remove packed receptacles therefrom; means to stop the conveyor means and to initiate operation of said cycle means in response to arrival of an empty box at the packing station; means to actuate the conveyor means in response to completion of the operation of said cycle means; means to sense the position of a newly arrived empty receptacle at the packing station; and means responsive to the sensing means to prevent actuation of the cycle means when a newly arrived receptacle is incorrectly positioned at the packing station.
 12. A combination as set forth in claim 1 which includes: conveyor means to deliver successive empty receptacles to the packing station; tapered means at the packing station to guide the pickup means into the interiors of the receptacles; a platen to elevate newly arrived empty receptacles up to the guide means; and means to initiate operation of the cycle means in response to elevation of the platen.
 13. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from a supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: fluid-actuated means to raise and lower the pickup means; means to supply fluid at a relatively high pressure to the fluid-actuated means to raise the loaded pickup means; and means to supply fluid at lower pressure to the fluid-actuated means to lower the empty pickup means.
 14. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from a supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: a carriage carrying the pickup means, said carriage beinG laterally reciprocative for lateral reciprocation of the pickup means, said pickup means being movable up and down relative to the carriage; a cylinder; a piston in the cylinder connected to the carriage; means to admit pressurized fluid into the opposite ends of the cylinder to advance the piston in opposite directions for reciprocation of the carriage; and means responsive to approach of the carriage to each of its opposite limit positions to restrict the release of fluid from the cylinder on the advancing side of the piston to decelerate the carriage.
 15. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from a supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: a conveyor to deliver empty receptacles to the packing station and to remove packed receptacles therefrom; a continuously running motor; a clutch to connect the motor to the conveyor in response to completion of said operating cycle and to disconnect the motor from the conveyor in response to arrival of an empty receptacle at the packing station; and a brake to stop the conveyor in response to arrival of an empty box at the packing station and to release the conveyor in response to completion of said operating cycle.
 16. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein two pickup heads reciprocate laterally and also reciprocate up and down to engage successive layers of articles from a supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: a substantially horizontal track; a carriage mounted on the track for lateral reciprocation thereon; a cylinder; a piston in the cylinder connected to the carriage; means to admit pressurized fluid into the opposite ends of the cylinder to advance the piston in opposite directions for reciprocation of the carriage; two substantially upright cylinders on the carriage; two pistons in the two upright cylinders respectively, said pistons carrying the two pickup heads respectively; and means to admit pressurized fluid into the opposite ends of the two upright cylinders to raise and lower the two pickup heads.
 17. An improvement as set forth in claim 16 in which said means to admit pressurized fluid to the two upright cylinders comprises means to admit relatively high pressure fluid to raise the two pickup heads and means to admit relatively low pressure fluid to lower the two pickup heads.
 18. An improvement as set forth in claim 16 which includes means to decelerate the carriage as it approaches its two opposite limit positions.
 19. An improvement as set forth in claim 16 which includes means to prevent movement of the carriage in response to failure of either pickup head to pick up a complete layer of the articles.
 20. An improvement as set forth in claim 16, which includes at least one guide rod for each pickup head to stabilize the up and down movements of the head; in which each pickup head has a group of vacuum cups to pick up the articles; and in which each of said guide rods is hollow to form an air passage for evacuating the vacuum cups of the corresponding pickup head.
 21. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from a supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: a safety enclosure for moving parts of the apparatus including the pickup means; and means not only to interrupt the upward movement of the pickup means but also to lower the pickup means when the enclosure is opened for replacement of a missing article on the pickup means.
 22. An improvement as set forth in claim 20 which includes a conveyor to deliver empty receptacles to the packing Station and to remove packed receptacles therefrom; and which includes means to prevent operation of the conveyor when the safety enclosure is opened.
 23. An improvement as set forth in claim 2, including means for receiving and temporarily storing packed receptacles, whereby the packing cycle may continue uninterruptedly.
 24. An improvement as set forth in claim 20, which also includes means to sense the absence of a receptacle at the packing station, and through said responsive means prevent actuation of the cycle means.
 25. In an apparatus for packing layers of articles in receptacles wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles at a supply means and to release the layers in the receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: cycle means operative through a predetermined cycle to control the lateral reciprocations of the pickup means, the up and down reciprocations of the pickup means, and the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means; a safety enclosure for moving parts of the apparatus including the pickup means; a safety enclosure for moving parts of the apparatus including the pickup means; means to interrupt said cycle and not only to interrupt the upward movement of the pickup means, but also to lower the pickup means in response to opening of the enclosure for replacement of a missing article on the pickup means; means to resume the upward movement of the pickup means in response to subsequent closing of the safety enclosure; and means to resume the interrupted cycle of operation in response to the subsequent closing of the safety enclosure, said means to resume the cycle of operation including time delay means to permit completion of the upward movement of the pickup means before the cycle is resumed.
 26. In an apparatus for packing different numbers of layers of articles in receptacles wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of the articles from supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: cycle means including cycle elements operable simultaneously to control the lateral reciprocations of the pickup means, to control the up and down reciprocations of the pickup means, and to control the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means, various of said cycle means being programmed for depositing different numbers of layers of the articles in the receptacles; control means to make the cycle elements effective selectively, said control means being adjustable to different settings for packing different numbers of layers in the receptacles; conveyor means to deliver successive empty receptacles to the packing station; means to actuate said cycle means in response to arrival of an empty receptacle at the packing station; means to sense the position of a newly arrived empty receptacle at the packing station; and means responsive to the sensing means to prevent actuation of the cycle means when a newly arrived receptacle is incorrectly positioned at the packing station.
 27. In an apparatus for packing different numbers of layers of articles in receptacles wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of the articles from supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at the packing station, the improvement comprising: cycle means including cycle elements operable simultaneously to control the lateral reciprocations of the pickup means, the up and down reciprocations of the pickup means, and the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means, various of said cycle means being programmed for depositing different numbers of layers of the articles in the receptacles; and control means to make the cycle elements effective selectively, said control means being Adjustable to different settings for packing different numbers of layers in the receptacles, said pickup means comprising two pickup heads to pick up layers of two different complementary patterns, respectively, to form alternate layers in a receptacle, said cycle means being programmed to start the packing of each receptacle with a layer of a given pattern of the two complementary patterns, the two pickup heads moving to the packing station alternately to release layers of the articles and when an odd number of layers is being packed in the receptacle, the cycle means omitting the release operation of one of the two pickup heads between the end of one operating cycle and the beginning of the next operating cycle thereby to cause the packing of each receptacle to start with a layer of said given pattern.
 28. In an apparatus for packing different numbers of layers of articles in receptacles wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of the articles from supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at the packing station, the improvement comprising: cycle means including cycle elements operable simultaneously to control the lateral reciprocations of the pickup means, the up and down reciprocations of the pickup means, and the engagement and release of articles by the pickup means, various of said cycle means being programmed for depositing different numbers of layers of the articles in the receptacles; control means to make the cycle elements effective selectively, said control means being adjustable to different settings for packing different numbers of layers in the receptacles; tapered means at the packing station to guide the pickup means into the interior of the receptacles; and a platen to elevate newly arrived empty boxes up to the tapered guide means, said cycle means including at least one cycle element to raise and lower the platen when the receptacles are packed with a given number of layers of the articles, said cycle means further including a second cycle element to control the raising and the lowering of the platen when the receptacles are packed with a different number of layers of the articles.
 29. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: means to sense the position of a receptacle at the packing station; and means to prevent initiation of the operating cycle in response to incorrect positioning of a receptacle at the packing station, said sensing means comprising three switches in series actuated by the receptacles, one of the three switches being a normally closed switch positioned short of the correct position of the receptacle, a second of the three switches being a normally closed switch positioned beyond the correct position of a receptacle, the third switch of the three switches being a normally open switch at the correct position of the receptacle.
 30. In an apparatus having an operating cycle wherein pickup means reciprocates laterally and also reciprocates up and down to engage successive layers of articles from supply means and to release the layers in receptacles at a packing station, the improvement comprising: the provision of a plurality of different supply means to supply the articles in layers of different patterns for packing into the receptacles, the supply means of said plurality of supply means being interchangeable in the apparatus; and the provision of a plurality of different pickup means each designed to pick up layers of one of said patterns for release into the receptacles, the pickup means of said plurality of pickup means being interchangeable in the apparatus, whereby the apparatus may be changed over from packing oNe pattern of the articles to packing another pattern of the articles by substituting in the apparatus one supply means for another supply means and one pickup means for another pickup means.
 31. A control system for automatic packing apparatus to change over the apparatus to pack different numbers of layers of articles in receptacles of different dimensions with different patterns of the layers, wherein the apparatus has supply means to supply layers of selected patterns of the articles, a carriage to reciprocate between the supply means and a packing station, and pickup means carried by the carriage to pick up the layers of the selected patterns by vacuum action, said pickup means being reciprocative vertically relative to the carriage to pick up the layers at the supply means and to deposit the layers in receptacles at the packing station, said control system comprising: a plurality of cycle elements movable in synchronism through repeated cycles to cause repeated cycles of operation of the apparatus, at least one of the cycle elements being effective to control the delivery of empty receptacles to the packing station, at least one of the cycle elements being effective to control the reciprocations of the carriage, different cycle elements being effective to control the vertical reciprocation of the pickup means, different cycle elements being effective to control the vacuum cycles of the pickup means; and a single master control having different settings to make different combinations of the cycle elements effective during the repeated cycles, each combination of the cycle elements causing the apparatus to pack a given number of layers in a receptacle of a given size.
 32. A control system as set forth in claim 31 in which some of the cycle elements are common to all of said combinations of cycle elements.
 33. A control system as set forth in claim 32 in which a given interval of time is required for the apparatus to pick up a layer of the articles at the supply means and to deposit the layer of articles in a receptacle at the packing station; in which the carriage reciprocates once in each of said intervals of time; in which a first given number of time intervals is required to pack a receptacle with a given number of layers; in which a second given number of the time intervals is required to pack a receptacle with a different number of layers; and in which one cycle of said plurality of cycle elements occurs in a number of said time intervals which is a multiple of said first given number and is also a multiple of said second given number.
 34. A control system as set forth in claim 33 in which one cycle of said plurality of cycle elements occurs in a number of cycles which is the least common denominator of said first and second given numbers.
 35. A control system as set forth in claim 33 in which said plurality of cycle elements includes a cycle element effective to arrange the articles in layer patterns at the supply means during each of said time intervals.
 36. A control system as set forth in claim 33 in which a platen is provided to raise and lower receptacles at the packing station; in which one of the cycle elements is effective to raise and lower the platen once in said first given number of time intervals; and in which a second cycle element is effective to raise and lower the platen once in said second given number of time intervals. 